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Presentation on equine herpesvirus outbreak to be given at veterinary college

LEESBURG, Va., March 1, 2007 – The Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine (VMRCVM) and Virginia Cooperative Extension will present "Update on the Neurological Equine Herpesvirus Type-1 (EHV-1) Outbreak in Virginia" on Tuesday, March 6, 2007 as part of an ongoing "Tuesday Evening Talks" lecture series.

The presentation, which will feature Dr. Scott Pleasant, an associate professor in the college’s Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, will begin at 7 p.m. in the VMRCVM’s classroom 102, which is located across from the Veterinary Medicine Library. Participants should enter through the Veterinary Teaching Hospital entrance and proceed to the left, down the hall to the classroom. The event is free and open to the public.

The Virginia State Veterinarian’s Office mandated a quarantine of Virginia Tech’s Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center (EMC) in Leesburg, Virginia on Tuesday, Feb. 20 as the result of a suspected infection of EHV-1 in three hospitalized horses. The quarantine remains in effect as EMC officials continue their effort to safeguard the health of their patients and the neighboring equine community. EHV-1, one of several strains of the equine herpesvirus, is a highly contagious disease that, although not transmissible to humans, can cause respiratory signs, abortion, peri-natal infection, encephalitis, and other complications in horses.